Politics & Government

Sussex Waiting for Lisbon Before Moving Ahead with Merger Talk

The village says it's waiting for Lisbon to say "go" before getting a steering committee together to hash out a merger. However, increasing a community's size isn't all "gravy," the village administrator says.

While Lisbon residents and staff may , village officials say they're waiting for the green light from the town to get started.

Jeremy Smith, the village administrator, says Sussex officials are ready to have a more in-depth discussion about setting up a steering committee to look into how a merger could become a reality. The committee would be comprised of a wide array of Sussex and Lisbon individuals and would work through the issues involved with a merger.

But first, residents have to vote. Lisbon officials have officially set August 14 as the date for an advisory referendum asking voters if a merger is a good idea, according to the Sussex Sun.

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However, Smith says doubling the community's size by combining municipalities probably will be pretty messy.

"Size can be helpful in relation to state programs and things of that nature," Smith said. "There are certain opportunities and benefits to becoming larger, but there are a lot of challenges. For example, there's more election spots to deal with. It's not like it's just gravy, shall we say. There are challenges with becoming a bigger organization."

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"I think we should all be adults and stop being so childish about this. Drop the Lisbon name all together!"

at its fire station last week, and about 250 residents showed up to either vehemently disapprove of the merger or to show support. The Town Board addressed everything from taxes, which would decrease for Sussex residents but increase for Lisbon residents, to changing the name to the City of Sussex-Lisbon.

Patch readers, however, found the argument to keep Lisbon in the merged community's name to be childish and proof that the alleged feud between the communities is still alive and well.

"I think we should all be adults and stop being so childish about this," Scott Daniel wrote in the comments. "Drop the Lisbon name all together! Let's all be the village/city of Sussex. What would the real harm be? I live in the Town of Lisbon."

Another reader, and Lisbon resident, agreed with Daniel about the name change.

"We haven't decided our preference," TownofLisbonRes wrote. "However, If merged, just call it Sussex. Get over the egos. Do you really want to write and/or say Sussex-Lisbon? NOT! (We're from Town of Lisbon)."

Regardless of the name, Smith said Sussex is ready to explore the idea of a merger further. He says, with twice the population, the new community would have twice the chance to sustain itself in the future.

"The possibility of a merger is really about long-term growth and how we can do stuff together stronger," Smith said. "Really, the theory is, together a community of 20,000 is better prepared to deal with the future than two communities of 10,000."

Now Sussex is waiting for a decision from Lisbon voters. The town is expected to hold its next public meeting at soon. Lisbon residents will be receiving an invitation when the date is set. 

Editor's Note: This article was updated with new information on April 9 at 9:15 p.m.


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